TERRY HUTSON FOUR YEARS after establishing Ocean Freight Logistics (OFL) as the dedicated service provider to one of South Africa’s leading citrus exporters, Catop Citrus of Tzaneen, OFL recently re-branded and expanded its horizons to include general cargo in addition to citrus, deciduous and sub-tropical fruit. The move has the full support of Catop, which is one of the top five citrus exporters in South Africa. “By expanding our services beyond citrus we are in a position to assist a broader range of exporters with their local and international requirements,” said Freddie Beukmann, who with Tania Jennings founded OFL in 2000 under the name Ocean Fruit Logistics. He explained that it was OFL’s responsibility to take care of all aspects of quality and logistics, something he fully understands, having worked for many years with the PPECB in Durban. “We have to ensure that the cargo is received in the port and shipped under the best conditions possible.” According to co-founder Jennings, “most forwarding companies focus only on the needs of their clients in terms of documentation and ensuring that shipments are processed. OFL’s approach is to go beyond this, in that we determine the specific needs of all stakeholders in the process, both locally and at destination, ensuring that all parties’ needs are met and that our client’s brands are most effectively promoted.” Together Jennings and Beukmann have nearly 39 years of experience in the perishable business, which is why they’d like to stay in perishables including deciduous fruit via Durban, but will consider handling other commodities such as rice.
